Twitter gives an insight to Long, Keller situations

I wrote something on twitter on Wednesday and within 30 minutes it was on profootballtalk.com and a few minutes later the Dolphins texted me to clarify their position.

Twitter on Thursday also let us know the sense of apparent frustration Jake Long is having as his marathon visit to the St. Louis Rams dragged into a third day.

Despite a Wednesday report that Long's deal was done, despite being reportedly cleared by the Rams medical staff, despite a whirlwind tour of the city and multiple meals courtesy the team, Long still was unsigned as of this writing.

"I know you guys want answers right now, we do too! It's all going to work out for the best and we'll let you know when we know!" Mrs.Jackie Long, the offensive tackle's wife, tweeted just before midnight.

Look, contracts take a while. But slam-dunk deals don't take this long. This is obviously not a slam-dunk.

The Rams, desperate to get a blindside protector for quarterback Sam Bradford, are apparently not that desperate. If they'd given Long his asking price, it would have been done already.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, continue to tell me re-signing Jake Long is currently their free agency priority. I do not know whether they have made Long another offer -- they've made at least two that I know of -- but I imagine they have parameters and I supposed they have wiggle room within those parameters.

Me, I think it's better to set an offer nearly as high as you're willing to go and if the player doesn't bite, move on and continue conducting business.

As to the conduct of that other free agency business, I see the Dolphins as wanting to address some needs on offense. They brought in tight end Dustin Keller for a visit Wednesday and Thursday and hosted Rams receiver Brandon Gibson Thursday and part of Friday.

That's a good idea because, as I say in my column today in the Miami Herald, addressing the offense should remain the priority this offseason.

Offense.

Offense, offense, offense, offense, offense.

That last sentence, by the way, was more offense than the Dolphins showed in most games last season.

But I understand sometimes that adding players on offense is a matter of timing. The Dolphins can't go full in for some players when they've got the Long decision (and his contract) hanging in the balance.

And sometimes a deal is hard to strike early in free agency when a player has delusions of financial grander. And this is where I introduce you to Damien Keller. He is Dustin Keller's brother. And, God loves me, he has a twitter account.

And on that account on Wednesday just before Dustin arrived for his Miami visit, Damien tweeted: "If Jared Cook is worth 5 yrs, 40 million... How much more does that mean Dustin Keller should be getting?"

Two things:

Cook actually got a five-year, $35.11 million deal from the Rams. It has $19 million guaranteed. He's getting $21 million the first three years. The contract is a legit $7 million per season deal.

So it is a huge deal for a tight end of Cook's past modest production. No wonder the Dolphins didn't get this done.

Yet the thinking from the Keller family is that the prospective New York Jets free agent is worth "more," as Damien tweeted?

Really?

Dustin Keller is a $4 million a year tight end all day. He's a very nice complement on a team with other weapons. But he is not elite. He is not $7-million-a-year good.

Do you understand why he left the Dolphins without a deal Thursday? He will continue to look for more money. He will not get it from the Jets. My understanding is he might try the Giants, or the Buffalo Bills. His agent reached out to the Denver Broncos.

I don't think any of those teams will pay his price either. Actually, the Bills, the hot mess that they are, might do something for him because they're desperate and stinky and dumb.

But if not, Keller's price will drop. And if it drops to more palpable levels, the Dolphins should still be interested.